'New Deal' fund to invest in 40 green, digital areas: minister

A planned 20 trillion-won ($16.8 billion) fund tied to Korean New Deal projects would funnel money into 197 items under 40 different green and digital areas, South Korea’s finance minister said Monday. The fund -- which will be financed over the next five years -- will be established “early next year” and invest in areas including 5G, artificial intelligence, smart health care, renewable energy, robot technology and hydrogen vehicles, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Ministe

Sept. 28, 2020

Insurers' lending rises 1% in Q2

Loans extended by South Korean insurance companies rose 1 percent in the second quarter from a quarter earlier, the financial regulator said Monday. Insurers' outstanding loans totaled 240.9 trillion won ($205 billion) as of the end of June, up 2.5 trillion won from the end of March, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said in a statement. Their loans to households fell 0.9 percent to 120.1 trillion won in the second quarter from a quarter earlier, while lending to companies rose 3 perce

Sept. 28, 2020

Consumer financing firms' H1 net up 22% on decreased provisions

Consumer financing firms in South Korea saw their combined net profit rise 22.2 percent on-year in the first half of the year due to a sharp decline in loan-loss provisions, data showed Monday. The combined net profit of 110 credit-specialized financial firms stood at 1.33 trillion won ($1.1 billion) in the January-June period, compared with a profit of 1.08 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Their interest income rose 3.1 percent on

Sept. 28, 2020

Internet banking transactions at new record high in H1

South Korea's internet banking services continued to grow in the first half, with the number of users and daily transactions rising to new highs, central bank data showed Monday. The number of internet banking, including mobile banking, came to 164.8 million as of end-June, up 3.5 percent from six months earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The figure is the simple sum of all registered users at 18 internet and mobile banking service providers in the country, meaning t

Sept. 28, 2020

Creditor invites preliminary bidders for Hanjin Heavy

Cash-squeezed Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co. said Monday its main creditor Korea Development Bank (KDB) has invited preliminary bidders in order to sell its controlling stake in the shipyard. KDB plans to finalize the preliminary bidding by Oct. 26 to sell all or part of the 83.45 percent stake in Hanjin Heavy Industries, the shipbuilder said in a regulatory filing. The 83.45 percent stake is owned by seven local financial institutions including KDB and three Filipino financi

Sept. 28, 2020

Biz sentiment for Oct. still remains weak on virus impact: survey

Business sentiment in South Korea remains weak for October due mainly to the new coronavirus' impact on major industries, a local think tank said Monday. The business survey index of the country's top 600 companies by sales came to 84.6 for October, slightly up from the 83.5 for September, the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) said in a statement.  A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists, while a figure above the benchmark means the opposite. The BSI has stayed b

Sept. 28, 2020

Kia's local plant unfazed by 3 new cases

Kia Motors Corp. said Monday most of its domestic plants are in operation as three new coronavirus cases reported Sunday were not related to assembly line workers.   Kia said Sunday three assembly line workers in the Sohari plant in Gwangmyeong, south of Seoul, were infected with the coronavirus but corrected the information the following day.  "The three confirmed cases turned out to be related to relatives of the plant's assembly line workers. So the plant's operation wa

Sept. 28, 2020

Q3 economic growth tipped to rebound: minister

The South Korean economy is expected to rebound in the third quarter from a trough three months earlier, but the pace of recovery may be sharply curbed by a flare-up in virus cases, the finance minister said Monday. Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the government will make all-out efforts to boost the economic growth in the fourth quarter with massive fiscal spending. "A rebound in the economic growth is tipped to be considerably limited by the resurgence of COVID-19," Hong said in

Sept. 28, 2020

Kia reports 3 additional virus cases at local plant

Kia Motors Corp. said Sunday three assembly line workers at one of its domestic plants tested positive for the new coronavirus, and a decision on whether to suspend the plant's operations will be made soon. "The plant is not in operation as it is Sunday. The company will make a decision on whether to (temporarily) halt the Sohari plant in Gwangmyeong tomorrow," a company spokesman said over the phone. Kia, the country's second-biggest carmaker, halted the operations of the Sohari pla

Sept. 27, 2020

US trade panel supports LG Chem in battery case with SK Innovation

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) has voiced support for LG Chem Ltd.'s call for sanctions on its rival SK Innovation Co. in connection with a legal dispute over battery patents, LG Chem said Sunday. In response to LG Chem's request for the issuance of an order sanctioning SK Innovation, the investigative staff of the US International Trade Commission (ITC) has supported LG Chem ahead of a crucial verdict over their electric vehicle (EV) battery patent case next month.  In the

Sept. 27, 2020

S. Korea’s consumer sentiment sees sharp drop in Sept. amid stricter social distancing rules

South Korea’s composite consumer index shed the most points in six months in September, feeling the impact of stricter social distancing rules following the COVID-19 resurgence, central bank data showed Friday. The index dropped 8.8 points on-month to 79.4 in September, which also marked the sharpest dip in six months and the first decline since April, according to data released by the Bank of Korea. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists. The September reading broke th

Sept. 25, 2020

S. Korea to spend 94b won this year to develop homegrown COVID-19 vaccine

South Korea will spend a total of 94 billion won ($80.3 million) this year to help local firms develop homegrown vaccines and treatment drugs to fight the coronavirus pandemic, officials said Friday. The government also plans to set aside 260.4 billion won next year to develop vaccines and treatment drugs against the new coronavirus, officials said. The plan came after senior officials held a pan-government meeting with executives from pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms earlier in the day.

Sept. 25, 2020

S. Korea's trade terms rise for 5th straight month in Aug.

South Korea's terms of trade rose for the fifth straight month in August, as import prices fell at a faster pace than export prices, central bank data showed Friday. The country's net terms-of-trade index for goods -- a gauge of trade terms -- came in at 96.75 in August, up 6.7 percent from a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). It marked the fifth straight month of an on-year rise since April, when the trade terms posted the first on-year gain in over two

Sept. 25, 2020

Imported commercial car sales up 2.3% in August

Sales of imported commercial vehicles in South Korea rose 2.3 percent last month from a year earlier on robust sales of Mercedes-Benz trucks, an industry association said Friday. The number of newly registered imported commercial vehicles rose to 318 units in August from 311 a year ago, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. "Increased sales of Mercedes-Benz and Scania trucks helped the monthly results," a KAIDA official said. &

Sept. 25, 2020

Coronavirus sends S. Korea's consumer spending indoors plunging: expert

The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a plunge in South Korean consumers' spending at department stores, cinemas and other large indoor facilities, an expert said Friday. In contrast, consumer spending at outdoor and small facilities, including neighborhood grocery stores and camping sites, has gone up, said Lee Jae-ho, head of the Digital Economy Institute of Kakao Mobility. "The COVID-19 outbreak has caused the frequency of visits to duty-free shops and department stores and large di

Sept. 25, 2020

Prosecutors raid KEB Hana Bank over Optimus fund fiasco

Prosecutors on Thursday raided KEB Hana Bank‘s headquarters in Seoul in an apparent move to add fresh fuel to the investigation of Optimus Asset Management’s private equity fund misselling. KEB Hana Bank was one of trustee banks of the disputed funds. According to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, investigators searched the lender’s consignment sales unit to seize computer drives and documents related to the case. The main purpose of the search is to fi

Sept. 24, 2020

Vice Minister warns against forex market volatility

South Korea’s vice finance minister on Thursday warned that the local foreign exchange market may face higher volatility amid external factors such as the COVID-19 resurgence in Europe and the reignited US-China conflict. “There are currently various factors which may increase volatility in the global financial market, including the resurgence of COVID-19 in Europe and the escalating tension between the US and China ahead of the US presidential election,” said Kim Yong-beom

Sept. 24, 2020

Renault Samsung to suspend plant operations amid pandemic

Renault Samsung Motors Corp. said Thursday it will suspend its sole plant in South Korea until mid-October to control inventories amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Renault Samsung will halt the operation of the Busan plant, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, from Friday through Oct. 18, a company spokesman said over the phone. "The plant will be suspended for 11 working days as the Chuseok holiday falls on Sept. 30 and lasts through Oct. 5 for carmakers," he said. The company and its l

Sept. 24, 2020

Biz community anxious about 'anti-corporate' regulations

South Korean business lobby groups said Thursday a series of bills that they claim would hurt corporate activities should be further discussed as they will have a far-reaching impact on their business operations and the economy as well. The government is pushing to pass a package of bills to prevent power abuse by large conglomerates, help improve corporate governance structures and strengthen the financial health of financial companies. Also, the government is seeking to expand class-action

Sept. 24, 2020

S. Korean economy to worsen in H2 on virus impact: KERI

South Korea's economy is expected to deteriorate further in the second half of the year due to the prolonged coronavirus pandemic, a leading private think tank said Thursday. Asia's fourth-largest economy is likely to contract 3.8 percent on-year in the July-December period, worse than a 2.9 percent contraction projected in the second quarter, according to the Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI). After posting a negative growth rate of 0.7 percent in the first half, the economy is project

Sept. 24, 2020